Wednesday, March 29, 2006

French goat cheese is one of my favorite. It's quite hard (and expensive) to find some in Taipei. So, I was quite curious when I received these 2 samples of "old puerh" ("a Yunnan long leaf on the left and 16 yrs old Yunnan leaf finished in Taiwan" according to my tea friend in Florida who sent them to me). The smell is so strong that it filled the whole package and almost contaminated the other samples. I've tasted the left one twice and found that the goat smell remained the major strinking note in a very round brew. It reminded me of goat cheese you quickly grill in the oven, but, for a tea, it remained a strange smell and I felt more awkward than thrilled.

In doubt, I took the samples to Teaparker. He looked at them through the plastic zip bag (you can smell the tea without opening the bag) and said that these are fermented teas (the second one may even be oolong: I noticed ants took interest in it. Some sugar may have been added to start the fermentation). Besides, they are not old. They are "aged" in the sense that the maker used young leaves and processed them to give them an old look and smell.

Something is wrong about it, this tea is not right. You don't want to brew it, do you? he asked me almost afraid I would force him to swallow a drop. Oh no, I said! Your opinion is clear enough.

This is not the way I can satisfy my goat cheese craving. Fortunatly, my parents will come from France around Easter and I've asked them to bring me the real thing to eat!

Nevertheless, thanks to my American tea friend for sharing this peculiar tea with me. It has helped me to recognize other "aged" (cooked or mixed raw/cooked) puerhs that displayed similar smells at lower intensity.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

This 2000 cooked pu-erh brick is a product from the Fu Hai Tea Factory. The leaves are grade 1, 2 and 3. Brewed in a gaiwan, it is already very round and mellow with earth aromas. There is only a slight astringency. The fragrance is simple, almost unremarkable. It just melts on your tongue like I expect cooked puerh to do. Brewed in my duanni teapot, the resulting sweetness was even more impressive. The tea almost had the body of an old red wine. Compared to my other 2000 cooked puerh brick from the CNNP (grade 5), the difference in tea leaves grade is quite obvious. The Fu Hai leaves are smaller and clearer. The brew is therefore finer and smoother. On the plus side for the CNNP, it's a stronger and more complex tea. They have two different characters. Also, both have deep, heavy smells, which is what cooked puerh should smell like. These smells remind of earth, not of a wet cave or dry straw, which would be bad smells for cooked puerh.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

A first blog reader in the USA has received this teapot yesterday. So it's time that I translate its description into English!

This teapot is a perfect fit for Baozhongs and the lightest high mountain Oolongs, or even Oriental Beauty. I hesitated several months before purchasing it (it's my most expensive teapot). Let me explain why it's such a good fit.

1. Baotai means thin walls:They are very thin. It takes a lot of know-how and time to make. (This explains the price). At the end, this teapot of 15 cl weighs 50 grams, while my other zhuni teapot with a landscape (also 15 cl) weighs 90 grams (these are the weights without the lids). My tests with gaiwans have shown that thin walls are best for oolongs with light, flower fragrances. The thin walls and the high firing temperature (1250 degrees Celcius) give the teapot a high pitched tone when you gently lift and drop the lid.Addendum: With the lid, the teapot weighs 71 gr.

2. The zhuni clayThis red clay is harder, less porous and finer than other Yixing clays. It's closer to glazed ware, but still keeps the benefits of Yixing clay. It therefore doesn't alter the aromas very much. The pores and the minerals of the clay still do what do best: filtering and improving the taste of the tea.Zhuni clay has a bigger shrinkage ratio during the firing than other clays, and this means it is harder to make perfectly fitting lids. So mine is a little bit loose, but it has hardly any impact on the tea.

3. A bigger spoutIt enables to empty the teapot faster. The speed of pouring the tea out of the teapot has an impact on the taste and smell. A faster pour will make the tea lighter and more flowery. A slow pour will, on the contrary, give more body and heavier smells to the tea. A large spout is not very cute. It's a little bit too masculine to my eye. But my priority is not aesthetics, but functionality. And this large spout is what is needed to get my light oxidized Baozhongs and high Mountain Oolongs to shine.

4. A built-in filter in shape of a golf ballIt prevents the leaves from clogging the spout and slow the pouring.5. The size of the teapot

This 15 cl teapot is rather big for a gongfu cha teapot. But it fits the large size of high mountain oolongs. Their leaves are bigger, because they grow slowly in the cooler high mountain climate.

6. The shape

The round shape enables the oolongs to unfold in all directions. But at the same time it is also a little flat, which fits Baozhong (or Oriental Beauty) even better.

Experience with my 1800 meters high Da Yu Ling Oolong:The first time I used it was with what used to be my best high mountain oolong (now dethroned by the 2200 meters high Da Yu Ling), I thought it would take a lot to impress me. The doubts I had quickly dissipated. The teapot brewed my oolong lighter, fresher and purer than ever. Amazing!I even did a parallel brewing with my thin wall gaiwan and I was able to taste the difference. The aromas were clearer, more fragrant and smoother.

This experience also let me realize that this kind of light oxidized oolongs doesn't like to brewed in a stop and go fashion. If you let them sit too long and cool down, they will loose their freshness. Best is to reserve your time to drink the many brews in a short time period.

(This post is an answer to a reader in the USA, who is wondering where to store his young puerh).

Ceramic pots are not necessary for long term storage, only for shorter storage, after flaking part of a cake/brick for instance.Your basement may be a good way to keep the humidity high, but I would be concerned with bad odors (I don't know your basement and it may be clean and smelling like daisies...) In that case, I would move the puerh up during the warm summer days (I guess the temperature stay cool and even during the whole year in the basement). This would also help to let it breath a little from time to time.

Too bad your puer cakes are not wrapped by 7 in their original large bamboo leaves. That would take care of the dust. So wrap them in a clean cloth, like a T-Shirt instead (the air goes through and the dust stays on).

Another thing you can do is to flake some puer and put it in the open for a couple of months in the basement and in your other alternative place(s). Then smell and taste the different samples to see which aged best over this period.

You are probably aware that puerh postfermentation takes place thanks to several microbes. Some of them only appear after a certain time. One way to speed up the whole process is then to have some older puerh around to interact with the new (as for homemade yoguhrt). A few manufacturers even will put a few older leaves in the cakes for that purpose. So, while, in theory, you don't want to mix all you puerhs together (they would absorb each others' smells and loose their purity), you may want to have some older puer around the young one to give them a boost.

For this purpose, I recommend my 1990 raw Menghai region Fang Cha Zuan. It's still affordable. You can drink it right away and see towards what your puers will evolve, and you can keep some close to your young puers.

Your basement could be a good place for long term storing for one reason: you will more easily forget about it and rediscover it by the time you are moving out or refurnishing the whole place. But that's also a drawback, because it could also provide some visual and smelling pleasure during the aging time if you stored it in a place you spend time. Just don't be tempted to try a piece all too often.

Also remember that the value of storing young puerh is similar to a financial investment. There are 2 important variables to consider: what you invest and for how long. Selecting an average puerh is like investing in fixed deposit. It will grow, but little by little by little. Best is to select top performers, high quality puer made from good leaves, well processed and from a reputed source. These are the ones that appretiate like stock funds. Then there is the question of your time span. The secret is compounding interest. The older and longer you store your puerh, the more it will appretiate every year. For this, best is to start early and young! An alternative for older tea lovers is to store now 10 to 15 years old puerhs that should still carry reasonable price levels.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Here's a preview of things I'd like to write more in detail about (when I have more time on my hands):

- First a thanks to yet another reader (in south of France this time) who sent me 3 puer and 1 oolong samples.

- Then, there is another cooked puerh brick, also from the year 2000, that I will soon be able to taste. It was a gift from my puerh supplier. I may add it to the selection if it's as good as the other one he provided me.

- Last weekend I also returned to my oolong supplier to refill my inventory. This time I also purchased another Da Yu Ling soft stem (luanze) Oolong. This new Da Yu Ling, which definitely looks and smells even better, has been harested on a more recent plantation at an altitude of 2200 meters. (The one I am carrying in my selection is at 1800 meters height). I also hope to soon make a detailed tasting and present it on the blog. The 1800 meters is already blowing my mind away, I wonder what the 2200 meter tea will do: a glimpse at the divine?

The only bad thing that I can say about these teas is their 'high altitude' price! They are hand picked and the terrain at such altitude is very difficult, so that they can't harvest as much as on flat ground. Then, the whole tea making process is done with more attention and care than with cheaper tea, because you don't want to risk ruining such exceptional leaves. I've had some inquiries to sell it in smaller quantities than 150 grams. This makes perfect sense, as this is not the kind of tea one drinks every day. And it's also a tea that is best drunk within 6 to 9 months. (They have been lightly roasted for longer conservation.)

Therefore I inform you that I will provide both these Da Yu Lings also in 50/75/100 grams packages at the respective pro rata price (a third/half/2 third of the 150 gr price). 50 grams is a little bit less than 2 oz.

- I also refilled the Lugu Oolong. It has been just harvested and qualifies either as early spring or late winter. I've tasted it in a gaiwan and it performed very well, staying green all the way and doing 8 brews!

- I've been drinking my 2003 wild raw puer today and I'm still amazed by its lingering cha qi. I plan to wrap each qizi bing in a handwritten Chinese calligraphy. The first calligraphy that was made looks great, but just a little too big. I will show you when it's ready.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

My early blog readers will remember that I went to Beipu in Hsin Chu County (scroll down a bit). It's mainly home to Chinese from the Hakka tribe who have settled here one or two centuries ago. They famously grow Oriental Beauty, but their more traditional drink is called "Lei Cha". It's a powerful mix of grinded cereals with green tea powder. Hakkas have a reputation for being strong and tireless workers. If you have tried lei cha, then you will know the source of their energy.

I mention this today, because I just come back from some shopping with a big box of ready made Lei Cha powder. I found the taste very close to the tea I grinded myself back then. It's also much easier to make: Just fill your glass with a quarter or a third of that powder, add hot water, mix well and drink.

So let this be Lei Cha month! From today on, I will give a free sample of Lei Cha with each order (as long as supply lasts). In the past, I used to give two pieces of active bamboo charcoal. I still have some left. So it's up to you to decide what you prefer: lei cha or active bamboo charcoal.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

That's how one of my readers in the US described and kindly sent it to me. It turned out to be a young, twice baked tie guan yin (probably from Fujian, China)! I can say so with absolute certainty, because it tasted almost exactly like my top grade Tie Guan Yin and I know what an old Dong Ding tastes like. I even decided to brew my TGY in parallel to make sure. A good tea, though, this sample. I liked the fragrant nose of the dry leaves. I love to drink heavily baked Tie Guan Yin, especially now in winter. It's such a good tea that it shouldn't be sold under a false name.

But this experience shows that one has to be very careful with claims of old oolongs: using a good baking technique, a tea middle man (farmers only do light baking, if any, in general) can give young leaves an old appearance and taste.

So, how can you spot the difference?

Young leaves need to be baked more heavily to bring them to this level. A good tea baker will even let the leaves rest for a few days before baking them. The result are leaves that are more 'charcoaled', hurt by the heavy fire. They don't open up very much anymore and feel very dry. The charcoal smell is also more pervasive.

Old oolong leaves, on the other hand, have usually been more lightly baked, once every year or so. Just enough to freshen them up and dry the accumulated humidity. They will open up almost completely and you can see their color change from black to brown and almost back to green as you brew them longer and longer. Their fragrance is also more complex: it starts with the sweet roasting flavors, but you'll find also smells of old wood and at the end some even show a hint of their original aroma from their youth.

Sorry, I'm too busy packing tea and answering e-mails. Instead of writing an article about this 1990 raw puerh brick, I am inviting the readers who have already received it, Michael and David, to give us their comment. Thanks!

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About Me

My name is Stéphane Erler. I live in Taiwan since 1996 and have been studying tea with Teaparker. He's a worldwide tea expert and author of over 30 tea books. The study of tea isn't just theoretical, but it's also rooted in daily practice. It's a path of continuous improvement. As my brewing technique improves I get access to better teas and better accessories. These things go hand in hand. My blog documents my learning since 2004. And I have set up an online tea boutique with my selection of top quality teas, accessories and tea culture.